Riyad Mahrez is thought to be devastated over the collapse of a move to Man City

Mahrez claims the Foxes have betrayed him by refusing his dream move to Manchester City.

And now it is the third day in a row that he has gone AWOL after pulling out of the 2-1 defeat at Everton.

Technically, Leicester could view that as a breach of contract with the possibility of a £200,000 fine and have taken legal advice on how they now try and re-integrate their £95million-rated asset back into their squad.

However, Mahrez is understood to be “very depressed” and blames director of football John Rudkin for the mess.

PA:Press Association

Algerian Riyad Mahrez believed the Foxes would let him go to a big club like City

Reuters

Leicester players are likely to give Riyad Mahrez a testing reception on his return

A close friend who has worked with the player for many years told SunSport: “I was with Riyad today and he is very down and depressed.

“He understood that if a big club came in for him he would be allowed to go and realise his dream.

“Riyad thought he had that relationship with the club that he could be free to move and be recognised as one of the best footballers in the world.

Had his Phil

ALD OVER?

And his furious team-mates feel he let them down on Tuesday by missing their crucial training session ahead of the Everton match, when they ran through set pieces and tactics.

They weren’t impressed, either, when he went public at the start of the season, stating he wanted to move to a "bigger" Champions League club.

Reuters

France-born Riyad Mahrez and the Foxes will both wonder what is next for him

And they dubbed him Viktor Navorski - after Hollywood actor Tom Hanks’ character in the film Terminal - when he spent August’s Deadline Day holed up at a Paris Hub Airport ready for a flight to Barcelona, Madrid, Manchester or London if a top club agreed a fee for him.

PA:Empics Sport

Pep Guardiola had hoped to add the mercurial gifts of Riyad Mahrez to a Manchester City squad already brimming with flair and dominating the Premier League